You never know what you will find here – Sheep Llamas Prepping Recipes Spinning Weaving Crochet

Oh yes! Since I found my Kitchen Aid stand mixer at the local Target store awhile back I have slowly been discovering how nice it is to have. Last week I found an awesome deal on the Pasta/Roller Set and have always wanted to make my own pasta so I bought it for my Christmas present to myself.

Today was test day. I made a small batch of dough and made fettuccine and spaghetti with the help of my 7 year old granddaughter. Oh what fun we had! I have to say it went very quickly and the biggest time was spent cleaning up the flour mess from granddaughter!

Can you guess what we are having for dinner? I did cut the fettuccine into 2 inch pieces and rolled the spaghetti up into nests for drying. We are going to eat the “extra” pieces that cut too short or got crumpled in a pile until I figured out how I wanted to dry it.

I used the basic dough recipe in the manual and welcome pasta dough recipes anytime!

Some companies add sugar or salts before freeze drying. I have found a company that does not generally do that. I have used products from this company for almost two years now. After trying several other companies I found that this company is much better by far. The quality surpasses the others by leaps and bounds!

Just so you know, I am a distributor for this company, ThriveLife. I do earn commissions on orders accessed through this blog.

Back to the info….

When you look at the ingredient list for celery it says: Ingredients: Celery. That is it – no preservatives or chemicals. This is what the freeze drying process gives us, real fresh food that just needs to be reconstituted. Now, this is not “dehydrated” food. Dehydrated foods have the moisture removed by heat and air, and you have to “rehydrate” it. Freeze drying removes the moisture by freeze drying it – not heat. This process retains the flavor and reconstitutes the food to a natural state. Freeze dried food makes a great snack as well! Freeze dried food has a much longer shelf life in room temperature conditions whereas dehydrated food has a shorter lifespan or has to be frozen.

If you have more questions please contact me at joann.nehls2@gmail.com or post a reply below.

I knew it would come soon sooner rather than later…. or should I say I knew THEY would come! Mosquitoes!

Going out to the barn at night to check for new lambs and bottle feeding orphan lambs, I was getting very unhappy when getting a few mosquitoes trying to fly up my nose. A couple of days ago I was playing around with some essential oils and that night on my trip out to the barn I noticed no mosquitoes. Now, the mosquitoes are not bad right now but when you haven’t had them in your face since last fall you kind of notice them right away! I thought maybe it was not the right conditions for the mosquitoes since it had cooled off a few degrees.

Then yesterday I made a linen spray for the mattresses in our house as a deterrent for any teeny unwanted visitors. I used a brand name Repellent Blend essential oil from a top direct sales company. I needed to use the blend up as I had it in my oil box for too long. It smells so good so I think my arms were a little bit covered by the “drift” from spraying.

So, that night out in the barn, no mosquitoes in my face again. Must be the oil.

Now, thinking ahead to when things get worse…. I have some aromatherapy necklaces and a bracelet where I just add the oils to either a clay ball or to a felt pad in the jewelry. You guessed it. After applying the Repellent Blend to the jewelry, no flying mosquitoes around my face.

My next research is how to make a comparable blend using the same oils in that name brand Repellent Blend. I will share if I come up with one. There are a lot of oils in this one I have and I don’t have them all so I would have to buy about 5 more oils to make it. Unfortunately, quality oils are sometimes expensive so will have to save up.

Sorry I haven’t posted in quite awhile. I have had some personal issues to deal with and it has taken up most of my time along with work and the farm.

So I have been delving into being prepared for a world of question. Just watching the world news is a good reason to start preparing for an emergency situation. With our strange upset in the political world and also the terrible terrorist attacks and illnesses, I am getting prepared!

Also, water…… start storing water now. You can store water for a long time as long as your container is sterile when you put water in it and you seal it. Of course, cases of 16 or 20 oz bottles will also do. Lately they have been on sale so I am stocking up!

Medicines – I have a nice collection of essential oils and am learning about the chemical composition of them to be able to use and/or blend oils for medicinal purposes. Also, I am playing with Herbs and plan on planting my own herb garden so that I will have access to them if my oils run out and the situation is where I can not purchase them. So herbs are my backup plan.

I will do some more posts to share what I have found that works for me!

I found this article over at UrbanSurvivalSite.com and thought everyone needs to think about this, especially those of us who experience the cold temperature and snow storms where we live. And for those that rely on heating our homes to stay warm. Check it out!

A cold snap accompanied by strong winds and heavy snow or ice often results in the power going out. This can be very dangerous for people who rely on electricity to heat their homes in the winter. It’s important to have a plan in place to keep yourself and your family warm while riding out a power outage.

Hypothermia is a very real possibility that claims the lives of over 1,000 people in the U.S. every year. In fact, it often sneaks up on them before they realize what’s happening. They fall asleep and never wake up. This is why you need to be prepared to keep warm without relying on your furnace. Here are 17 ways.

1. Layer Your Clothing – Wear thermal underwear, a couple pairs of socks, several shirts, and a hat that covers your ears. This will make it harder for heat to escape and keep you much warmer. Also wear a coat and gloves if you’re outside.

2. Use Hand Warmers – Put the warmers in your gloves and socks to help keep your hands and feet warm. You will need to replace the warming packs every couple of hours.These gloves come with pockets for the hand warmers.

3. Close Rooms You Won’t Be Using – Close the doors of every room you don’t have to get to. The more sealed up your house is, the less cold will be able to get in.

4. Huddle In One Small Room – Pick a small bedroom (preferably one with as few windows as possible) and have your whole family gather there. Close the door and cover the vents to trap the body heat generated by everyone. If possible, pick a room on the south side of the house so the sun’s rays can warm the room naturally. Also, if you’re dealing with a wind coming out of the north, you don’t want to be on that side of the house.

5. Use Duct Tape and Plastic to Cover Windows – If you don’t have a roll of plastic, you can use garbage bags. Better yet, use bubble wrap if you have it. The extra insulation will stop drafts from seeping around the smallest cracks in the sill and keep the cold glass from chilling the room.

6. Close All The Blinds and Curtains at Night – Once you’ve covered the windows with plastic, don’t forget the curtains. If there’s a window without curtains, use a heavy blanket instead. A few nails in the corners of the blankets won’t hurt them. Doing this will block drafts as well as stop the cold air from seeping in through the glass. As long as the sun is shining, you can uncover the windows during the day to let warm sunlight in.

7. Use Towels to Block Drafts – Roll up towels and place them under doors to block cold drafts from coming in. Put them on window sills as well. You can use pillows, blankets, or even old shirts. Put them anywhere a draft might sneak in.

8. Burn Candles (Safely) to Help Generate Heat – Several candles grouped together on a table can provide some warmth and comfort. Just make sure they’re not in a place where they could be knocked over.

9. Invest in Solar Heaters – These hand devices rely on the sun to heat a house. However, they’re much more effective if you use them to warm a single room. Unfortunately, they’re pretty expensive. If you don’t want to be out a couple thousand dollars, you can buy a single panel and use it to heat one room or a small section of the house.

10. Invest in a Wood Stove or Fireplace – Make sure you have plenty of seasoned, dry wood to burn in the stove as well. A wood stove can easily heat an entire home and provide a way to heat food.

11. Get a Portable Generator – A large standby generator can be enough to run your furnace, but a portable generator can run a space heater or two. Keep extra fuel on hand for your generator, and NEVER put your generator inside your home. Keep it under a porch or awning to protect it from heavy snow if necessary.

13. Pile On The Blankets – Get comfy on the couch and put on several blankets to keep warm. Make sure you keep your head covered as well. Wool blankets are best and provide the most warmth.

14. Use Heated Water Bottles – Back in the day, people used heated water bags to keep warm while they sat on the couch or lay in bed. You can do the same by heating up a water bottle and putting it next to your body. Another option is a bag of beans. Put it near your heater or fire (but not too close) until it gets nice and warm, then snuggle up with it.

15. Get Some Exercise – Five minutes of jumping jacks or burpees will warm you up really fast. If you have kids, play a game of Simon Says. Not only will this warm up everyone, it will boost morale.

16. Put Your Tent Up Indoors – The small, enclosed space will trap in body heat. Burning a candle in the tent will provide more heat (just be careful). If your tent is sturdy enough, add a blanket over the top to help trap the heat inside.

17. Pull Out Your Sleeping Bags – Blankets are great during the day, but at night you’ll want some high-quality sleeping bags to trap in every bit of body heat.

Enjoying my brunch…poached eggs using my new Pampered Chef stoneware microwave egg poacher which takes only one and a half minutes! Seasoned with our new salt/pepper grinder from sister and her hubby. Oh..and the eggs are from our hens, nice and fresh.

Making broth from the carcass of a cooked turkey is something I can remember my mother doing and my grandmother as well. We’ve heard of eating chicken soup when we are sick and making the stock yourself us similar except cooking the bones longer makes the broth more nutritious and healing.

The gelatin formed is good for the digestive tract and for aching joints and inflammation. Broth contains Amino acids such as glycine, proline, and arginine, which all have anti-inflammatory effects.

Arginine, for example, has been found to be particularly beneficial for the treatment of whole body inflammation. Glycine has a calming effect which may help you sleep better.
Bone broth contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium that promote bone strength. The cartilage boiled with the bones adds chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine to help reduce joint pain and inflammation.

The gelatin in the broth can lead to healthier hair and stronger nails.

I’m all for getting nutrients naturally rather from a bottle and making bone broth is one way for me to do that.